So here's the big idea:
- Build a big ship containing your rooms, freezer, all your junk. The bigger the size, the more resource to make it take off - possibly the more propellers or cores or whatever items.
- Hit the blast off for a fancy blastoff animation and white-out the screen.
- Now all you see is your "ship" (base) in space. It's basically just a small map of strictly your base - your ship. The textures other than the outline of your ship are invisible, showing the seemingly looping space background or wallpaper. Your jet engines are probably on during all this space travel.
- Events still happen. When building your ship, you need to place a spot near an edge of your ship that will signify the on-board/cargo area. Factions can board your ship to trade. Aliens can on-board you and attack. Raids, wild-man, travelers even. (You'll likely have "factions" regenerate once you leave the planet and end up in space with "new" invisible unknown factions.)
- New events: The potential is limitless (as you're past the sky :P), but some big ideas would be to have events of planets encountered, their living conditions or possible mining potential! Caravan events can also all be utilized.
- New things: Space suits are a must, especially for non-living planets for mining operations.
- The best part: When you want to land on a hospitable planet, just accept the event or something, and the new world is loaded - prepare your landing in preferred area of the new world, and when the map is loaded your giant base comes placing down into the map.. until you decide to take off again.
The "I'm basically never gonna stop playing" experience. :P There's a few mods I've seen before that have already aimed at some aspects of this. I'm wondering if this could be a real experience for 1.0 tho, somewhere down the line.